Winners Celebrate at Gala Awards Night

Companies from across the Gwent area were honoured at a glittering awards presentation as the Oscars of the local business world were handed out.

Monmouthshire Business Awards 2017 Celtic Manor Newport

More than 350 people attended this year’s bigger and better Monmouthshire Business Awards last Friday night (October 6).

The gala dinner and presentation night at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport concluded a hugely-successful awards 2017 awards that saw a threefold increase in entries.

This year’s awards were expanded to cover the ‘old Monmouthshire’ – towns and cities that were part of the county prior to 1965.

The ‘back to the future’ approach opened the awards to entries from businesses beyond the current Monmouthshire county to Newport, Caerleon, Cwmbran, Ebbw Vale and Caerphilly.

Broadcaster Hywel James revealed this year’s winners when he hosted the gala night. Despite the increase in size this year, the awards retained their relaxed, friendly approach.

Mr James appeared on stage apparently fresh from being chased down ski slopes by gun-toting assassins in a James Bond spoof video. And the evening ended with the traditional and hilarious outtakes from the finalists’ video shoots.

The top award this year went to Newport-based timber firm Premier Forest Products, who were named Company of the Year.

The most emotional moment of the night saw Young Apprentice winner Ellie Curtis, from Little Tigers Daycare in Rogiet, take to the stage in tears, so shocked and delighted was she to be named the winner.

And the funniest moment went to Excellence in Manufacturing winner HJ Weir Engineering of Chepstow, whose holidaying managing director Ross Weir accepted the award via a spoof live satellite video feed from Barbados.

MBA founder and director Janet Harris said:

“This was the biggest and best awards we have staged by far and the atmosphere at the gala dinner and presentation night was second to none.

“Everyone was supportive of every single nominee, and there was a real feeling that we were all there to celebrate the fantastic and innovative businesses operating in this area of Wales.